Barry Evans Named 2020 Cotton Marketer of the Year

Photo: Plains Cotton Growers

Barry Evans has always been a busy man. In addition to managing a successful farming operation in Kress, TX, he’s also found the desire and the time to be involved and stay active serving the cotton industry.

Over many years, he’s held leadership roles with organizations such as the National Cotton Council, American Cotton Producers, Cotton Foundation, Plains Cotton Growers, the Cotton Board, Texas Alliance for Water Conservation and the Swisher County Farm Bureau board. And, he’s still active with many of them. That level of selfless service also earned him the 2016 Cotton Grower Cotton Achievement Award.

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Now, he can add a new accolade to his long resume – recipient of the 2020 Joseph J. O’Neill Cotton Marketer of the Year award.

The annual award, presented by ICE Futures and BASF, honors Joe O’Neill, long-time president and CEO of the New York Cotton Exchange (now ICE Futures).

“It’s pretty humbling to receive this award, because there’s no farmer that thinks they’re very good at marketing – and I’m certainly one of them,” said Evans in accepting the award.

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What’s the secret to his success? Having a good marketing plan in place and be willing to make the adjustments needed without emotion.

“When we think about marketing, everybody thinks you want to get a high price,” he said. “I will assure you that I am the last person on earth that knows what the market is going to do. I think I’m the worst market prognosticator there is.”

And that’s where his plan comes into play. Evans calls the shots on his marketing moves with the assistance of a broker that he’s worked closely with for the past 25 years.

“I do check the markets every morning and at least two to three more times during the day,” noted Evans. “I’ve gotten to where I like options. I’ve been caught in those big bull markets when you’re short and need margin calls, and that’s no fun. So when the market gets to a price I’m happy with, I start buying put options. They cost money, but they take a lot of the emotions out of the market. If the market goes up, you can always sell them and buy some higher ones in a bull market.”

Evans understands that many other growers don’t share his philosophy about options. Again, it often comes down to the emotion attached to spending money up front.

“It’s hard for people to get past spending that money,” he explained. “A farmer can buy put options and lose money on them, and he’s upset with himself. Yet, if he contracted his crop and the price went up, he’s not nearly as upset, because he didn’t see that money going out up front. But if he buys puts and the market goes up, then he’s way ahead.”

Another important element in marketing ties back to production – the necessity of having good cotton to market. “The way the spinning industry is right now, you have to have a good grade,” he said. “If not, they’re going to kill you on the basis. You need good cotton to get a good basis. We can’t do anything about our environment, but we can invest in good genetics.”

Evans also relies on crop insurance as part of his marketing mix since it’s a revenue product. And he’ll tell you it really saved him in 2020.

“People tend to overlook countywide policies like STAX (Stacked Income Protection Plan) or SCO (Supplemental Coverage Option), especially if they don’t have a good cotton base,” he pointed out. “STAX is a heck of a good marketing tool. And where I have pretty good cotton base, I put SCO on, which acts as a subsidized put option.”

Evans splits his 4,500 acre farming operation evenly between cotton and sorghum (or another grain crop). His cotton acres are 80% dryland and 20% irrigated. And with the hot, dry conditions impacting the High Plains last year, he was only able to produce what he calls “a horrid crop.”

“We didn’t have any dryland at all last year, and my irrigated made about half of what it should have,” he recalled. “It was not a good year at all. That’s why crop insurance is huge. It was a major component of my income this past year. If all I’d concentrated on was trying to contract a good price, it wouldn’t have worked at all because I didn’t have the crop.

“Without it, it would have been devastating. We wouldn’t have had anything. We’d be in a big loss situation, and we were able to avoid that with the insurance.”

Evans started farming in 1992 after a short stint in the business world. He quickly saw the rotational benefits he was getting from cotton and sorghum or cotton and wheat and implemented no-till practices on the farm in 1996 to add more organic matter to the soil – and to help keep it in place in the west Texas winds. A stickler for details, about the only thing he can’t manage on his acres is rainfall.

“To be really sustainable out here, it’s all about dryland farming,” he said. “We have to be able to make a living without irrigation. Our irrigation essentially supplements our rainfall. When your water goes, you realize how important that soil organic matter is.

“Cotton is still what makes us money,” he added. “But for me, it doesn’t really matter what the cotton price goes to. I’m going to plant a grain crop on half of my acres for the residue and to capture water.”

Evans admitted that it’s very nice to be recognized for his marketing efforts. And as he looks ahead to the 2021 season, he’ll continue to watch the markets for opportunities while he finalizes his production plans.

And, to be sure, his insurance plans are already in place.

 

    Remembering Joe O’Neill

Ask people who knew Joseph J. (Joe) O’Neill well, and they’ll often describe a force of nature for the cotton business.

O’Neill was a longtime New York exchange executive and innovator in the futures markets, beginning with the Cotton Exchange to the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) and finally with InterContinentalExchange (ICE) in 2007. He served as Senior Executive Vice President and Chairman of the ICE Cotton Committee until his retirement.

Through it all, O’Neill was always one of cotton’s greatest promoters, recalled long-time friend Dr. O.A. Cleveland.

“Joe worked with Extension agents in every cotton state,” he said. “He was tireless in his efforts. He wanted to make sure cotton growers around the United States had a strong grasp of using the futures market and using the cotton options market. Joe is the reason we’re here today.”

O’Neill passed away in 2018. The Cotton Marketer of the Year Award was named in his honor in 2019.

 

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